By Eunice Emeyazia.
As Nigerians struggle to battle with the shocking news of the death of some Nollywood actors recently, another tragedy has befallen the movie industry.
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Some of its young and vibrant Asaba based actors and movie assistants who went to shoot a scene for a movie at the River Niger axis, near Anam, including a popular Asaba based Actor, Junior Pope Odonwodo, a.k.a Jnr Pope, had fallen into the river, after their boat capsized.
Anam Community is a mega community of eight villages located in Anambra West Local Government Area, Anambra State, bounded by three Historic Rivers, River Anambra, River Niger and River Ezichi. The Anambra River has its root from Ojor in Uzouwani Local Gov. of Enugu state
Junior Pope was among those rescued and efforts were made to resuscitate him, even as he struggled for hours to stay alive.
A video that went viral on the social media showed Jnr. Pope sharing part of the journey in the boat, without wearing a life jacket, where he told his fans about the ordeal those in the movie Industry went through to entertain them in the movies.
Few hours later, another video surfaced online where he was rescued from the river, alongside some other persons who were also working with the crew on the set of the movie.
A source who spoke to NIM correspondent in Asaba, the Delta state capital, and pleaded anonymity, said after the rescue from the boat mishap , they had taken Jnr. Pope and others to a hospital in Asaba, where they confirmed him dead.
A twist however happened when they arrived the mortuary to deposit his body, and were told, he showed signs of being alive, hence was taken away for resuscitation.
Meanwhile, in all of this, the internet was awash with varying sides of the report, pronouncing him dead before a Doctor’s confirmation, while condolence messages kept pouring in, even from ” top Nollywood officials”.
The Actor was later transfered from the St. Joseph’s Hospital Asaba to the Renewed mind Medical Diagnostic Center Asaba, amidst a tight crowd which gathered at the hospital to see things for themselves and to take live videos
As at 11pm Wednesday, information was still sketchy as no journalists was allowed inside, while some who tried to take shots with their phone cameras earlier, had them destroyed by some grieving youths at the scene.
The tension was high as some sympathizers who gathered were seen praying for his quick recovery, while some others expressed anger as to why they were locked out of the hospital, with yet another group appealing for calm and urging the agitators to maintain calm and allow the medical practitioners play their role.
Actors and Actresses were briefly sighted at the hospital, including Mrs Regina Daniels, the wife of the Billionaire Senator Ned Nwoko and Destiny Etiko.
Our source said there were other boats that conveyed the crew to the location, but it was only the boat conveying Pope and other victims capsized, adding that efforts were being put in place to search for others who drowned and were still missing.
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It would be recalled that in 2021, a viral post appeared online where Junior Pope had expressed gratitude to God for sparing his life and that of his family members after a fire incident destroyed his house.
‘Join Me In Thanking God Ooooooooo. My house almost went up in flames while my family slept. But GodIntervened. My hands are clean Oooooooooooo, (Akam di Ocha). God Is The Greatest (final full stop). My family and I are safe,” he wrote.
The actor joined the Nigerian movie industry (Nollywood) in 2006, where he began attending movie auditions and playing supporting roles in movies, including the role of a bodyguard, palace attendant, and servant, villain, militant and hitman alongside other Actors like Emma Ehumadu, Sylvester Madu, Zubby Michael, Jim Iyke, Alaso Wariboko, Gentle Jack, Hanks Anuku, and Jerry Amilo.
Jnr. Pope rose to fame after acting in the Nollywood blockbuster movie “Secret Adventures” a movie directed by Tchidi Chikere.
Since then he has acted in more than 150 Nollywood movies, and won awards including that of Nollywood Most Promising Actor in Nigeria at the Entertainment Factory Awards, Best Actor in a Supporting Role at the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards and Best Actor of the Year at the Africa Movie Academy Awards.
The 39 year old Actor is married with 3 kids
NIM